St.Francis Church responds to lawsuit

April 23, 2001|By: Ryan Bentley

It would violate constitutional protections against governmental interference in religion for the Emmet County Circuit Court to intervene in a dispute over renovations at St. Francis Xavier Church as some parishioners have requested, an attorney for church and Diocese of Gaylord officials stated in a written response to the church members' lawsuit.

St. Francis Xavier members Tim Ehlen, Mark Gengle and Joseph Hoffman Sr. filed a lawsuit in March on behalf of the St. Francis Xavier Historic Preservation Guild requesting that Emmet County Circuit Court Judge Charles Johnson issue an injunction requiring renovations planned by parish officials and supported by the diocese to be postponed. The delay was sought until Roman Catholic Church administrators in the Vatican are able to consider the guild's three recent appeals against the updates proposed for the church.

A hearing on the matter, originally scheduled for Monday, April 30, has been postponed until 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 3, in the circuit court because of a heavy court caseload earlier in the week.

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The guild is an organization of St. Francis Xavier members who believe some of the liturgical updates that are part of the renovation proposal, such as removal of the church's communion rail and existing pulpit, would hurt the historical and worship integrity of the century-old church building at Howard and State streets. Church officials have said these updates are needed for the worship space to conform with guidelines set by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

Defendants in the guild's lawsuit include the Rev. James Suchocki, pastor at St. Francis Xavier Church; the diocese; and diocese Bishop Patrick Cooney. They are represented in court by the law firm Plunkett & Cooney.

Robert Westerman II, an attorney at the law firm's Gaylord office, filed a response to the guild's lawsuit in court last week. In it, he states that the First Amendment prohibits governmental regulation of religious beliefs.

"It is not proper for this court to interfere with internal church procedures or the controversies that arise therefrom," Westerman wrote, adding that court intervention in the renovation dispute would involve a governmental inquiry into church canon law procedures. "Such inquiry would serve to undermine the general rule that religious controversies are not the proper subject of civil court inquiry."

It also would be an improper intervention in church organizational matters for the court to require the parish to release a report of its financial condition to the guild as requested in the lawsuit, Westerman wrote.

The guild's lawsuit states that the diocese has offered to loan approximately $2 million to the parish to cover renovation expenses beyond the amount pledged to parishioners. Because church members would be responsible for repaying such a debt, the lawsuit maintains they are entitled to details about parish finances.

Petoskey attorney Stephen Tresidder, who is representing the guild in the matter, said he believes the issue to be decided by the court is strictly a property, and not a spiritual, matter, and therefore within the jurisdiction of a civil court. He added that he will have a detailed reply to Westerman's arguments ready in a few days.

In his reply to the lawsuit, Westerman also argues that the preservation guild has no legal standing to argue in court against the renovation plans, because Bishop Cooney holds the legal title to the church property in question. He added that delaying the renovations would hinder efforts to resolve possible safety issues with the church building, noting that its electrical and lighting systems have deteriorated with age and that the church is not in compliance with some current building, safety and equal access codes.

Westerman could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

In filing the lawsuit, the guild requested Johnson delay the church renovations, set to begin May 7, until Vatican officials can review the appeals it made against them. The appeals, known in canon law as denunciations, maintain that the church meets Catholic guidelines for worship places as it currently exists and that declining weekly financial contributions to the parish reflect declining participation in church life by parishioners opposed to the building project.

Because canon law does not offer provisions to delay actions such as the renovation while the Vatican reviews denunciations against them, the guild sought the injunction in circuit court, the lawsuit states.

"It wouldn't make sense to have them start construction on the church and then have Rome say 'No, you can't do it,'" said Ehlen, the preservation guild's chairman.

During the guild's monthly forum meeting Sunday, Ehlen said there still may be a possibility for guild members to stop the renovation process without civil court involvement. Guild members are submitting letters to Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit, and to Apostolic Pro-Nuncio Gabriel Montalvo in Washington, D.C., requesting those church officials consider intervening to stop the renovation.

"We would prefer not to take this to court," Ehlen said. "We would prefer to handle this entirely using proper church protocol."